**Chapter 18: The Devourer of Souls III**
I could feel the rugged ground beneath me, the cold seeping into my very bones. My face pressed against the earth, I trembled slightly, my mind a chaotic storm of black emotions swirling like a turbulent river. I fought desperately to maintain my composure.
“Hehehe, what’s wrong? Is this the end for you, Vampire?”
I lay still, as if dead, not moving a muscle.
It wasn’t that I lacked strength—no, I still had power left within me. My body was merely hindered by its physical state.
I was not yet defeated. I could survive. I steeled my wavering heart, searching for a glimmer of hope.
Originally, the body of an Anadoro was immune to poison. Paralytic poisons, hypnotic toxins, even those deadly enough to kill a living being with a single drop had no effect on me. The substance released by the Devourer of Souls was less poison and more akin to digestive fluid or acid, something that could dissolve a physical body at a molecular level.
The arm that had been pierced by its needle had instantly lost all sensation and faded away. Its toxicity was likely quite potent. It was a terrifying magic indeed. If it could dissolve iron, then even armor would be useless against it. It was a perfect ambush. I wondered if Senri would have been able to counter this.
If I were to defeat it, long-range attacks would be the best option. Unfortunately, that was not within my arsenal.
The pain had already slipped outside my consciousness. As I closed my eyes and concentrated, I could sense that strange poison actively eroding my body.
Bit by bit, it was dissolving my flesh. Until now, I had often experienced bodily loss. The most notable instance was when I was left with only my head, but I had grown accustomed to the sensation of regeneration.
The Vampire’s regenerative abilities were being slightly outpaced by the damage inflicted by the poison.
The surroundings fell silent. The voice of the Devourer of Souls echoed ominously.
“To be defeated by such a mere Oni… How pathetic for one of the King of Demons, Raineru’s subordinates…”
That voice was not one of admonishment; it mocked all existence that had ever been defeated by me.
I ignored it, focusing deeper.
Power swirled within me. It was the strength granted to me by Senri’s blood. As I felt this power coursing through me, I realized that while the Devourer of Souls was shouting something, it was no longer reaching my ears.
I had long suspected that the power of a Vampire was likely of two kinds.
The first was the negative energy accumulated by killing living beings, and the second was the strength gained from consuming blood.
The former was the foundation of my power. Even when my blood ran dry and I was reduced to just a head, I could still survive due to this strength, which likely formed the basis of my physical and survival abilities. Senri had previously mentioned that a Vampire consumed by Bloodlust would gouge out their own heart and die, but even without drinking blood, they could still possess the physical prowess to do so. This was the residual strength of the deceased, and negative energy was fundamentally non-depleting.
Then, what of the latter?
The strength obtained from consuming blood—though for convenience, I called it blood power—was likely the energy required to unleash my abilities as a Vampire. My power was significantly amplified by this blood energy. The moment I drank Senri’s blood, I could unleash tremendous strength, likely due to the boost in my physical capabilities. I could feel that I was utilizing this power when I activated abilities like “Sharp Claw,” “Sharp Fang,” and “Shadow Veil.”
Moreover—most likely, my regenerative abilities were also derived from this blood power.
When I had been subjected to sunlight, my regeneration had not activated. Until I received blood from Senri, I had remained a head. That was likely because I had been thoroughly tormented by Nebira, causing my blood power to dwindle. No, it was probably the act of depleting my blood power and exposing myself to sunlight that constituted the punishment of sunlight.
What was crucial here was that, unlike negative energy, blood power was likely something I could control.
“You can’t move, can you? After all, you were once human. I can’t imagine you being of any use to Lord Raineru. Allow me to… guide you to your end.”
The ground trembled. Footsteps approached. The Devourer of Souls was letting its guard down. The reason I lay still like a corpse was to buy myself even a moment of time.
Now, with my body in tatters, I could feel the blood power circulating within me concentrating on my wounds. Normally, my injuries healed almost instantly, making it hard to discern the flow of power, but now, the standoff between my healing abilities and the poison’s damage had made it clear.
The Devourer of Souls was approaching because I had not yet fully dissolved. Originally, I should have melted into a puddle shortly after being poisoned, yet I remained intact.
There was a faint scent of fear mingling with the strong, beastly odor of the Devourer of Souls. While it boasted of its strength, deep down, it harbored a sense of trepidation.
In that moment, I suddenly realized.
The Devourer of Souls was likely just as cowardly as I was. That was why it had ambushed me. That was why it proclaimed its power to the surroundings. That was why, despite having me at a disadvantage, it feared retaliation and was attempting to stab me with its needle.
Feeling a surge of sympathy, I nonetheless resolved that I would not forgive it.
I already understood how to control my power. I had been unconsciously using it all along. Now, I just needed to consciously apply it. There was no reason for failure. I focused the blood power coursing through me into my wounds, just as I did when activating “Sharp Claw” or “Shadow Veil.”
A chilling sensation coursed through my body. It was likely a side effect of the power that usually filled me being diminished. However, in exchange, my wounds began to burn and throb with renewed vigor.
I pushed myself up, rising to my feet.
This was the fighting style of a Vampire that Senri had been unable to teach me.
My previously melting flesh had fully healed. The large gaping holes that had existed moments ago, as well as the lost limbs and jaw, had returned as if the damage had never occurred. My regenerative abilities, enhanced by blood power, had completely overwhelmed the poison’s corrosion.
The silence of the surroundings was shattered by a stir. The footsteps of the Devourer of Souls halted. The sky was dark; the moon was absent. I had expended a significant amount of blood power on my regeneration, but fear was nowhere to be found. A chill ran through me, but more potent than that was the overwhelming desire to kill that swirled in my mind.
Ah, what a dreadful feeling. I glared at the Devourer of Souls. I would kill it. With my composure intact, I would eliminate this beast that threatened my very existence.
“Damn it… Ah… Lord is still not out… ‘Devourer of Souls.'”
“Ugh…”
Ah, those eyes—burning red like flames—were so similar to mine. The Devourer of Souls retreated without uttering a word, its tail whipping like a massive whip.
Ah, of course it would. If a man I had supposedly killed—one who had melted away, losing his limbs and the lower half of his face—suddenly stood back up, even if the chances of finishing him off in pursuit were high, I wouldn’t dare approach him. If I were in the Devourer of Souls’ position, I would do the same.
In response, I did not launch an attack; instead, I activated “Sharp Claw.”
“Ugh… I can’t believe anything anymore.”
Not the steel greatsword, not the magical artifacts, nothing felt trustworthy. Among the onlookers, there were those wielding weapons, but I had no desire to borrow one. The only thing I could trust was my own body.
With power coursing through me, my claws elongated like knives, sharpening to a deadly point. As they reached their usual length of about ten centimeters, I poured even more power into them.
When I had mutated into a Shiki, I had tested this power. The maximum length I could extend was ten centimeters. The Anadoro compendium stated that Shiki possessed the ability to extend their claws like knives. However, I was no longer a Shiki. Though I was still a lower-tier Vampire, I was a Vampire nonetheless. The power I could wield now was beyond that of before.
I felt a sensation as if I had hit a wall, but I ignored it and concentrated my strength.
With a snap, something broke.
My arm creaked ominously. There was no pain, just a tingling sensation. The boundaries between my fingers vanished, the skin turning white and hardening as it elongated into a sharp point. The Devourer of Souls twisted its grotesque face in horror and stepped back.
Seconds later, my right arm had transformed into a sword. No, perhaps it was more akin to a spear. It measured about a meter in length. The white, hardened flesh retained the characteristics of my former claws but was far more lethal. Was this… bone?
I felt satisfied. This was Vampire bone, surely harder than steel. I had expended quite a bit of energy, but for a first attempt, it was well done.
The Devourer of Souls roared. Countless poisoned needles shot forth from its swinging tail. I deflected them with the newly formed sword in my right hand. A hard sound echoed as the needles were repelled, embedding themselves in the ground. My newly acquired sword bore not a single scratch. Whether the needles were of a type that required piercing to inject poison or if I had overcome the poison’s effects, I was slightly curious, but that was a concern for later.
I was not a narcissist, but indeed, my body was magnificent.
“Ah, yes. This is it. With a length like this, I can slice that unappealing tail clean off. It’s a bit inconvenient since I’ve lost my fingers, but…”
Well, even if I became a dog, I could revert back, so I could surely restore it. At worst, I could simply sever my arm.